Many of us will likely have a bottle or jar of honey in our kitchens at home.
It’s perfect for adding a touch of sweetness to your breakfast or balancing the flavour of more savoury dishes, and it’s good for you too.
According to the pros at Healthline, it’s rich in antioxidants and is better for your blood sugar levels than regular sugar is, as well as being ultra-easy to add to your diet as well.
However, if you’ve been buying your honey from the supermarket, experts at Tonic Health have warned that you might not be getting the real deal.
Because of this, it’s worth giving the label a quick glance over before you add to your basket, as there’s one key detail to look out for that’ll tell you everything you need to know.
Browsing the honey selection in a supermarket, the expert said: “The honey in your cupboard probably isn’t real and that’s a sad thing because honey is a natural sweetener that is good for us and has loads of benefits.
“It’s even shown if you consume honey from your local area, you can reduce your symptoms of hay fever.”
Because honey has become ‘really expensive’, certain brands might resort to blending EU honey with non-EU honey. The man added: “That means there’s an opportunity somewhere in the supply chain for them to mix it with glucose syrup and bulk it out which means it’s not real honey.”
He hailed one ‘simple thing’ to look out for when you’re choosing honey from the supermarket – and that’s checking its origin.
Picking up a jar, he said: “Like this – pure English set honey. You can look at the back of the label and see it’s produced in the UK, that is UK honey.”
He also spotted a jar of Greek honey, stressing the importance of choosing an origin honey from the shelves.
Last year, DNA tests commissioned by the Honey Authenticity Network found that more than 90 per cent of honey jars from top UK retailers were mixed with cheaper fillers.
But keeping an eye out for single-origin on the label, as well as buying from local beekeepers, may help you to ensure you’re getting the best quality.
And according to Black Mountain Honey, a simple water test can help you identify the purity of honey.
Place a spoonful of honey in a glass of water, and if it dissolves quickly, it likely contains high levels of added moisture – suggesting dilution. Pure honey tends to settle at the bottom of the glass without dissolving rapidly.
